It Started With a Lie
by rainidays
Summary: It's crazy how one thing said can lead to a number of crazy events. Not your usual happy Splatoon story.
1. Chapter 1

**Aero**

 **Whir**. **Click**.

The occasional sound of one of the many cameras is the only noise that breaks the deathly silence that roams around my cramped cell. I don't understand why the security guards even bother watching me. Everyday, ever since I was first locked up in this white, silent place, I've remained still in my sitting position.

The need to move around left me once I was separated from the only person I ever truly loved.

Suddenly, a small square-shaped door pops open, allowing a leathery-gloved hand to slide in with a tray with a steamy bowl on top. Snorting, I roll my eyes and continue to remain motionless, ignoring my stomach's constant growls of protest.

The need to feed myself left me once I was separated from the only person I ever truly loved.

Silence creeps back up, and I welcome it as if it were my own best friend. But what am I talking about? The happy life I used to live is now gone. I don't have any more friends. Did I ever really have any?

I close my eyes, awaiting one of my happy memories from my good life to come and taunt me as they always do. For the most part, I'm pretty used to them now, whether they come now or to me in a dream.

" _Aeeroo! Goood morning!" Roller hollered, sitting on top of my lap. I shift around a bit, my eyes still glued shut._

" _J-Just a few more minutes of sleep…" I groaned, burying my body deeper within my comforter._

 _Annoyed, Roller firmly placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me a wild shake. "No! No more sleeping! C'mon! You promised you would take me to my first Turf War today!"_

 _My eyes, red and displaying nothing but tiredness, shot open and I drowsily rose up, stretching my arms. Yawning, I turned towards the light blue boy with a weak smile._

" _O-Of course, Roller…" I croaked, another yawn threatening to spill out of my mouth. Before I could lay back down, the latter tackled me, glaring._

 _"Alright, alright. I'm getting up."  
_

 _Pleased, Roller rolled off of me and dashed out of my room, giggling excitedly. Of course he was. He's finally fourteen, the age that finally allows Inklings to play in Turf Wars._

 _I slid out from beneath my covers, another yawn released, grabbing my glasses. I slid them on, clearing my horrible, blurry vision. I opened my curtains, allowing the sunlight to kiss my cheeks._

 _The perfect day for Turf Wars._

" _Aero? Are you coming?" The boy called, impatience written all over the tone of his voice.  
_

 _I rolled my eyes with a snort. "Yes, I'm coming Roller."_

My eyes shoot back open with tears sliding down my cheek and onto my lap. My body starts to shake uncontrollably as I try to keep my sobs contained.

 **Whir**. **Click**.

I immediately try to regain my motionless posture, refusing to give these lowlifes who watch me suffer in this hell everyday the satisfaction of seeing me break down, but I can't.

" _Roller?" I called out, searching around frantically. "Roller!"_

 _Behind me, I heard soft thumps against the floor._

" _Roller! There you are-" I turned to see the latter with red-puffy eyes, the usual playful happiness that shines in them gone. He looked angry, his chest huffing up and down in stiff, forceful movements._

" _Roller, what's-"_

" _Don't call me that!" He spat, stomping his foot on the ground. "Don't ever call me that 'name' ever again!"_

 _I stumbled backwards at his rough approach, my legs wobbling like jelly. With raggedy breathing, I placed my hand on my chest to contain myself. "W-What are you-"_

" _Don't you dare act like you don't know!" He interrupted. "You know exactly what's going on! You know that Roller isn't my real name! You knew that you couldn't hide this from me forever, Aero!"_

 _The way he angrily spits out my name causes a knife to lodge itself in my heart. The more angry insults he throws at me, the more the knife twists itself deeper._

I grip the sides of my head as my stomach's growls increase and I slowly and finally feel the pain of starvation, my stomach hollow like an empty shell.

I can't...

" _R-Roller…I don't know w-what you're t-talking about…" I sobbed, falling down to my knees._

 _I'm not dumb. I know the latter will not feel pity for me, but instead and an ongoing chain of burning hatred.  
_

" _Stop lying to me!" He shrieks, reaching for the telephone."C-Cod, I'm tired of your stupid, disgusting lies! I-I'm gonna do what's right! No more following you're bad footsteps, Aero!"  
_

 _My eyes immediately widen._

 _No._

 _The word slips out of my mouth over and over again as the young teen proceeds to dial a number._

" _ **No.** "_

 _His fingers continue pressing the buttons, ignoring my protests. Within seconds, a voice on the other end answers._

" _ **No!** "_

" _Yes! Please help-"_

 _I break out of the room before I can hear the rest of his sentence, my heart pounding heavily in my the front door open, I run away from the place I used to call my home and continue forward throughout the neighborhood, ignoring the surprised expressions shot at me.  
_

 _Running._

 _It's a thing I haven't done for ten years, and now, it's back to haunt me._

I can't hold back any longer... ** _  
_**

I clench my sharp fang-like teeth together as my body violently shakes itself. Before I know it, I'm sprawled out on the floor with my fists banging on the floor, screams of anger, frustration, and other mixed emotions I'm feeling fly out of my mouth.

I can't because this memory is the most brutal memory of them all. It's the most brutal memory because it always remembers to remind me of the day I was forced to leave the person that ever truly loved me and absolutely hated me.

* * *

When I open my eyes, I'm surrounded by the same blank white walls that always greet me, the same cameras that occasionally check on my every move, and the same silence that constantly rings through my ears.

Glancing forward, I noticed the bowl of soup is still available, my stomach beginning to growl again as if it were persuading and begging me to eat.

After a few moments of pain-indulging silence, I scooted closer towards the tray, pulling it closer to me once it was within my reach. I lifted up the spoon and placed the cold, tasteless liquid into my mouth, swallowing it down my dry, unused throat. I continue this process until my bowl is completely empty.

" _I hate you."_

If there's anything I remember the most, it's these last words he told me before I passed out.

" _I hate you."_

He has the right to. After what I did, I started to hate myself too.

" _I'll always hate you."_

And I'll always hate myself too.

Rising up, I grabbed and placed the tray back to its original location and walked back to my spot that I hadn't moved from until today.

 **Whir**. **Click**.

As always, I ignored the cameras that tracked my simple movements. Scratching the dry tears off from around my eyes, I sat back down in my usual spot and resumed my motionless, daily routine: sit and look at nothing but the walls.

 **A/N:** Depressing way to start off a chapter, huh? So I'm trying to create my story...guess we'll see how this works!


	2. Chapter 2

**Aero  
**

After yesterday, life in my cell quickly returns to normal. The deathly silence has invited itself back in and I remain motionless in my crisscross-sitting position, despite how tired my legs feel. Everything is the same except for the one camera that refuses to stop staring dead at me.

For a while, I decided to have a staring contest with it, the Inkling on the other side sometimes moving the camera up and down as a way to say, ' _I give up! You win_!'. But now, it sits, completely lifeless as it watches me intently.

I'm tempted to start another game, but the temptation quickly disperses as all the cameras suddenly die down, their necks slowly retreating back into the wall except for the one that continues to stalk me. I swallow to keep the fear down and prevent my body from shaking as said camera begins to move.

 **Whiiiiiiiiir**. **Click**.

Slowly, the camera observantly scans the room before joining its comrades by dying down and retreating into its own corner. Before I can say or do anything, a gloved-hand pops through the mini door my food normally comes out of, however, there was no tray or food with it. It points to me and signals me over.

Nervously, I crawl over towards the mysterious hand, my brain exploding with worst-case scenarios to keep the fear in me at full capacity. Once I reach it, it extends towards my wrist and gently grabs it. I flinch, my body completely forgetting what it's like to be touched, even if the hand is gloved. However, the hand means no harm as it releases its grip. And that's when another memory returns.

" _Wow! There's so many choices!" Roller exclaimed, examining several different weapons in the store. "B-But I don't know what to choose! I didn't think there would be this many!"_

 _I chuckled, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we go out back and test some of them out?"_

" _We can do that!?" He gasped._

 _I glanced at Sheldon, receiving a nod from him before nodding to the latter._

 _We both walked to the training area behind the store. Roller decided to use a Krak-On Splat Roller as his first choice. That's when I decided to start calling him Roller._

" _OK! I'm gonna master this roller so I can finally play and be the best in first Turf War!" He declared, raising a fist into the air. I smiled at his young, but bright determination._

 _He set his sights on the closest squid dummy to him and began to run, pushing the roller at ease. Once he was close enough, he raised the weapon high over his head, immediately losing balance. I dashed over to his side and grasped his hand, helping him steady the weapon._

" _It's better if you use both hands, otherwise, you'll fall backwards."_

" _Y-Yeah…that makes a lot more sense." He breathed._

" _Ready to try again?"_

" _Of course I am!"_

* * *

 **Whir**. **Click**.

The sound of the camera throws me back into the present. I noticed the gloved-hand from earlier is gone and instead of a bowl of cold, slippery soup, there's a slice of cake with a plastic fork on a tray right outside the door.

 **Whir**. **Click**.

I looked up to see the same strange camera that watched me move around while the others were still dead. It shifted towards the cake, then back at me, then towards the cake again. With my muscles tensed, I slowly made my way over to the sweet delicacy and took a swift bite. Immediately, my dry taste buds were touched with creamy, delicious flavor.

"…Mmm…" I purred unintentionally, licking my lips.

 **Whir**. **Click**.

After I finished, I moved back towards my sitting position, several questions pondering my thoughts.

 _Who gave me the cake?_

 _Was it the Inkling behind that camera?_

 _Why would they give it to me?_

 **Whir**. **Click**. **Whir**. **Click**.

Suddenly, all the cameras whirred back to life, scanning the room thoroughly, but most importantly, me. To the other three watchers, nothing had changed, so they quickly returned to their normal positions except for that one, mysterious camera. I stared up at it and mouthed, " _Thank you for the cake._ "

The camera made a clicking sound as if to say, ' _You're welcome._ ' All four cameras go out again and so does the light bulb in my cell, engulfing me in darkness before I can even blink.

* * *

" _Aero! Aero! Please wake up!"_

 _Grumbling, I opened my eyes to see Roller in front of me, his face stained with tears. A flash of lightening followed by the growl of thunder shook the house, causing the latter to flinch and bury himself in my arms._

" _Roller…"_

" _Aero…I-I'm scared! The power went out and now it's all dark! I don't wanna be in the dark! I don't wanna be struck by lightning! I don't-"_

" _Shh." I pressed my finger to his trembling lips and wrapped my arm around his waist. "It's okay, Roller. It's just a thunderstorm."_

" _B-But it's so scary…" He whimpered, squeezing my waist._

" _I know, I know. I used to be scared too. But then, I realized something."_

" _What?"_

" _This storm isn't trying to hurt anyone. It's just nature trying to take care of the world. Sure, some…lightning incidents happen, but not on purpose. Besides," I pull him closer and bury my head into his hair. "We're here in this storm together. I promise I won't ever let anything, not even a thunderstorm, hurt you."_

"…"

" _S-Sorry, that was cheesy."_

 _He chuckled with a smile. "No, that was just what I needed."_

" _Love you, Roller."_

" _Love you too, Aero."_

* * *

The lights flicker back to life, but all the cameras, including the one that stared me down, remain dead. I blinked a few times re-adjusting my eyes to the lights.

"Aero?" A voice called. "Sorry, can you see properly?"

My body flinched at the sound of a voice. A voice, an actual real Inkling voice.

"Aero?"

I gazed up towards the Inkling shakily, placing my hand over my mouth to hold back a terrified scream.

 _Is that a real Inkling?_

 _He's breathing and panting!_

 _I must be dreaming, I must be dreaming, I must be dreaming!_

"Aero?" The stranger called again, irritation in his tone. "Please say something! We don't have much time!"

"W-What…?" I asked, my voice cracked. I haven't said a single word to anyone for the last five years and the fact that I am causes my stomach to twist up in knots.

Filled to the brim with impatience, the stranger grabs my hands and lifts me off the ground without warning. He throws me onto his back and firmly grabs my legs. "Ready?"

"W-Wait...what!?"

"I'll take that as a yes!" He exclaims, pushing the door that has kept me trapped in here. As soon as we're out of the cell, we're completely engulfed into another world of darkness.

"Hold on tight, Aero! I'm gonna get you out of here!"

Seeing how limited my options were, I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, holding back any loud sobs that threatened to escape my mouth. However, tears blurred my already obscured vision as confusion and sadness danced around my body.

"W-Where are we going…?" I blurted out, sniffling.

"Out of here. You and a bunch of others are overdue." The stranger answers in huffed breaths.

"O-Overdue…?"

Alarms and sirens that suddenly ring prevent the latter from responding back and occasionally, a flash of red pops up, giving us a brief view of our surroundings. My eyes are confused at seeing colors other than white and black, forcing me to squeeze them shut and clench my fangs.

* * *

 _Sirens wailed behind me as I jumped and pulled myself over a fence. I swerved past wandering Inklings, ignoring their confused expressions._

 _Run. Run._

 _That was the only word my mind screamed to the rest of my body. However, my legs grew tired and weak as I kept going, not allowing myself any breaks. But I have to keep going. I can't ever let myself get captured._

 _Run. Run._

* * *

"We're almost out, Aero!"

My eyes snap open to the sound of the stranger's voice as he screeched to a stop. Grunting, he pulled out a long metal object from his pocket. With a press of a button, the object expanded and transformed itself into a perfect, if not brand-new, Dynamo Roller.

"How did you-"

"Alright, distance yourself!" He interrupted, releasing me. I rolled off his back unexpectedly and fell to the ground face first. Groaning, I lifted my head, rubbing my bruised cheek.

 **Boom**.

I glanced behind me to see my _rescuer_ pound against the door with his roller, leaving large dents in its metal. In front of me, however, soldiers, most likely guards of this place, came running forward, their boots stomping hard against the ground.

"Uh…we got company…?" I blurted out, half confused, half scared to death.

The latter chuckled in response and tossed a dark blue Splash Wall in front of me. I gasp in shock as something easily removable as a Splash Wall causes the soldiers to skid to a stop, their mouths agape as they drop their weapons onto the floor.

 **Boom**.

Light instantly bursts into the room as the large metal door is knocked down to the ground. The stranger quickly grabs me by my legs and lifts me back up into his arms. We stare at each other for a brief moment and he winks at me before leaping out into the light, the exit to this prison.

* * *

"S-Sunlight…" I gasped as the warm light kissed my cheeks.

"Feels great, huh?" The stranger beamed, swiftly distancing us from the prison. "You're finally free now...just like you were supposed to."

"What?"

He stops to set me down again, this time, a lot gentler. "You're free, Aero. You were never supposed to be in that jail in the first place."

"What?" I ask again.

He lets out an annoyed sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Listen, I'll explain later, okay? Right now, we need to keep moving." He extends his hand towards me. I hesitantly grab it and instead of running, we briskly walk away from the prison into a nearby area filled with trees.

* * *

 _Even out here in the woods, I feel vulnerable. The red and blue lights of the police cars show my every move, causing my heart to nearly thump out of my chest. My legs and feet burn with pain in protest with every step I take. But I can't stop running._

 _I can never stop running._

 _Caught up in my thoughts, I fail to take notice of an upcoming log which, unfortunately for me, successfully trips me. I let out a wail of alarm and tumble down onto the ground, dirt and other plants rolling up into my mouth. My head collided into a fence and I let out a screech of pain, the food in my belly threatening to come out._

 _A few feet behind me, the sirens wails begin to increase in volume. Whimpering, I crawled around the fence and noticed an isolated house. Empty or not, I was determined to break in._

 _Gulping, I threw my fist at the window, shattering it to pieces. Shards of glass stuck to my fingers causing green blood to seep out of my skin. Ignoring the pain, I leaped through the window, tears of pain blinding my vision._

* * *

"Aero! Hey! Wake up! My arms are getting tired from carrying you."

I slowly blinked a few times, rubbing my eyes drowsily. I don't even remember feeling tired or falling asleep. Yawning, I rolled out of the stranger's arms and shakily landed on the ground.

"Great, thanks." He said, stretching.

"Who are you…?" I finally ask, that question stuck in my head ever since I first met this stranger.

"My name's Joey. You're welcome for saving you from a life of prison." The latter answered.

"A life of prison?" I asked. "I thought I was just their temporarily for what I did…"

The latter shakes his head, rubbing the sweat off his brow. "Nah, those guys were gonna keep you and several others there forever."

My legs suddenly felt so broken, I immediately collapsed, but Joey managed to catch me in time, gently placing me back on the ground. He sits next to me, wrapping an arm around my neck. "Hey, I know this is a lot to take in, but try not to think about that right now."

I blink and stare up at him. He stares back, an all too familiar grin on his face.

"R-Roller…" I begin to cry, sinking my hands into the dirt. "R-Roller would smile like that…H-He would…"

Just like the day before, my painful memories get the best of me and before I know it, I'm rolling around in the dirt, crying over someone who doesn't care or love me anymore in front of a mysterious Inkling who literally just busted me out of jail.

"Aero, don't cry." Joey soothes, swiping a tear from my eye with his finger. Without hesitation, I wrap my arms around him and he does the same. "I don't know who this…Roller guy is, but I can tell you care deeply for him."

I nod.

"Well, the sooner we get off this island, the sooner you can go home. You won't ever have to worry about this place ever again. I promise."

"I don't have a home. I never did." I retort.

"You will."

"Huh?"

"Once we're off this island, _I promise I won't let anything, not even a thunderstorm, hurt you_."


End file.
